Scene Breakdown, pt. 1

To give the statue of Hel in Rotwang’s lab its massive appearance, a mirror image of the 60 cm model was projected above the full-scale headless pedestal. A reverse-angle shot of Rotwang was then taken, with the film crew actually using the pedestal to stand on so they could shoot him from a high angle.

In another visually impressive scene is that of the transformation of the Moloch machine. Using a combination of the Schufftan process and sliding mirrors, the sculpted head of the demonic Moloch, positioned opposite to the machine, was blended into the shot and appears to superimpose the footage of the steaming machine.